Posted on

ROSE RAMBLER 10.8.2017

ROSE RAMBLER 10.08.2017 …

Hello, dear rose friends as the weather warms which might postpone more frosts and ensure us that our winter pruning is now SAFE …??? It’s a risk whichever way you go when you live in a very frosty/cold climate such as we do here at Clonbinane –were not on our own as lots of our customers who live way out western NSW, southern highlands Victoria and even parts of Queensland experience these extremely cold conditions.

Whatever the weather, we’ve got a bit of time now to be pruning so that’s what we’ve been doing this past week … of course, we are definitely still posting roses even though they’re now beautifully potted in supreme quality coir fibre potting medium – their roots will flourish in this ‘humid-crib’ environment.
Every care will be taken when they’re removed for posting … the roots will be carefully bound in damp newspaper and sealed in plastic which means they’ll actually continue growing whilst in transit!  At your end, be sure to get these beautiful roses into your garden as soon as possible and soak them with an eco-seaweed solution at planting then weekly for at least 8 weeks after planting!

Do you know you can apply eco-seaweed solution lightly over all the plants in your garden at least weekly to maintain good root development, healthy foliage and general good soil nutrition … ask your kids to do it for you … they’ll really enjoy having a special role in garden management – it’s easy for them to do, they cannot make mistakes by either over-doing or under-doing measuring the powder into a watering can.  Let them take responsibility and they’ll enjoy seeing rewards of healthy, robust plants in THEIR / YOUR garden!

PRUNING ROSES … This is how well Rosie has pruned just one of her MR. LINCOLN roses –

            

She’s got 199 to go; then there’s a three-sided wall garden of at least 30 plants of THE WEDDING ROSE which is just as robust.  It doesn’t end there so I urge you to visit GARNER’S WINERY just off the Hume Freeway at Longwood East during flowering season – any other time to sample their magnificent Award-winning wines of course!

If you’re thinking of a real tree-change, contact Rosie Garner as she is now reluctantly selling the winery – here are a few pics of this glorious property …

“GIFT ROSE” IS WINNING HEARTS … sending a beautifully gift wrapped GIFT ROSE of your choice with a personal message inscribed on a rose card is so appreciated!  We are receiving accolades from customers all around the world who trust us to post a beautiful rose to their friends and family; we can post to all States except Tasmania and Western Australia.
Whatever the occasion, let us organise posting a magnificent rose as we did for Barbara’s family recently …

“Hi I just wanted to thank you for the celebration rose bush which my Australian relatives received today and are extremely delighted with; that in part was due to the beautiful attention to detail in the gift packaging.  Thank you once again for making my gift so special”… Mrs Barbara C

Another happy customer …“Hi Diana … Just wanted to say a big thank you!!!!  My parents received their Slim Dusty rose gift yesterday and were very happy.  Thank you for putting together a great gift option and an easy and efficient process with FANTASTIC customer services.  Greatly appreciated and may you and your business be abundantly blessed.”  Kind Regards – Tereza

Don’t forget to put your reviews of our business on WOMO – Word Of Mouth Online as it can be very helpful to new customers and people who are not sure about online ordering.  I think it’s an easy process and we appreciate you taking time to acknowledge our business!

GRA’S GARBLE … “Healthy soils have at least 5% organic matter – most Australian soils have less than 3% organic matter so your household waste can be recycled and used in your own suburban backyard by creating simple layered compost heaps using lawn clippings, all types of baled straw/lucerne, leaves, bagged animal manure and tree litter after you’ve put it through a mulcher.

In order to add household waste to such a layered compost heap, buy a BOKASHI BUCKET – or make your own (BOKASHI powder which is a compost activator is available at large nursery outlets). The BOKASHI preparation is unattractive to vermin; most birds or animals won’t eat it.

You don’t need to turn this layered compost heap but you MUST KEEP IT MOIST to ensure rapid and effective processing of the heap to humus which can then be applied around all the plants in your garden.”

Q.  How do athletes stay cool during a game?  A. They sit near the fans!

Since we’re still posting roses, here are a few of my favourite climbing roses …

BLOSSOM TIME flowers are mid-pink with darker outer petals of absolutely perfect form and suitable for use over arches, on fences or in a pillar frame like these which we sell at the nursery – pick up only!

  

MADAM ALFRED CARRIERE is always first to flower and will still have flowering buds after the most severe winter frosts – with a fragrance to absolutely die for, this near-thornless rose is a beauty to fill a corner of the garden – let her spill gracefully over fences, through trees – plant this beauty and forget all about management!  Glorious creamy-white flowers with a blush tint during cold weather …

DUBLIN BAY is really my most favourite red climbing rose because it’s just ALWAYS FLOWERING and doesn’t require any special pruning or management … at some times of the day, I detect an absolute fragrance, other times not a hint – always lovely to pop into a vase though!  I love it!

 

Q.  How do rabbits travel?  A.  By hare-plane … a bit of a sick joke to finish another fabulous week in the nursery

I’ve planted some winter veggies, my early daffodils are flowering; the rest are well-foliaged and we’ll see a spectacular display throughout September and October … ah, life’s grand in the garden!

Enjoy all the moments in your garden this week…
cheers from us here at Silkies Rose Farm, Clonbinane
Posted on

ROSE RAMBLER 17.8.2017

ROSE RAMBLER 17.08.2017 …

Hello dear rose friends,

“What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness?”  John Steinbeck

Indeed the cold of winter is almost over.  While you’re out pruning the roses, have a bale of straw close by and lay biscuits of straw/hay around for you to walk on.  If you stomp all over the soil, it is possible to cause compaction and a biscuit of straw/hay will alleviate that problem and give you somewhere moderately dry to kneel down on while you’re pruning the lower branches of bush roses.

GRA’S GARBLE 

… When you use quality products to maintain your roses, the rewards are immense.  Regular applications of the organic spray maintenance program will definitely delay problems like severe insect attack or outbreaks of fungal disease like black spot and powdery mildew – start the program as soon as you’ve finished pruning .   The eco-friendly products we use and recommend are very economical when used on a monthly basis whereas, if you wait for problems to arise, you’ll have to spray every 3-5 days for around four applications just to get on top of a problem.  Makes sense therefore, to start monthly applications as soon as the roses are pruned …  NOW!!! 

Q.  What do you call a deer with no eyes?  A.  No eye deer.
Say it quick enough and it sounds like ‘no idea’.So, Q.  What do you call a deer with no eyes and no legs?  A.  Still, no idea.

Diana tells me that our products are ALL available for purchase in the online store:  GO SHOPPING for roses along with products which can be posted directly to your door.

FINAL BARE-ROOTED ROSES AVAILABLE NOW
ALL PRICES WILL BE INCREASED AT 12.00 MIDDAY ON 24TH AUGUST, 2017
ORDER NOW AT WWW.ROSESALESONLINE.COM.AU
BEAT THIS PRICE INCREASE – BUY BARE-ROOTED ROSES NOW

add ALL OCP products to your online order and pay NO EXTRA POSTAGE COST until NEXT THURSDAY, 24TH AUGUST, 2017

Meantime, if you prefer to shop in the traditional way, pop into your local garden centre and if you cannot find the Organic Crop Protectants (OCP) eco-friendly range of products:  eco-oil, eco-rose, eco-seaweed, eco-aminogro and eco-neem, ask them to contact OCP and organise stocking these great Australian products.  Then you and like-minded gardeners in your area can confidently manage pest and disease issues using these environmentally friendly products and work with Mother Nature in your garden … Gra

SHARING WITH A NOVICE ROSE GARDENER

… Carrie ordered roses and during the ordering process she told me she was really ‘new’ at the whole adventure of growing roses – especially scary since she lives in far north Queensland.  I sent her beautiful specimens (along with a really lovely FREEBIE) – I always post the best quality plants because I understand your dilemma at not being able to select for yourself!
Carrie sent this email which is totally awesome and makes doing what we do so very, very special:
 “Hi Diana .. I just wanted to say thank you for my order of roses. I’m new to rose growing so before I found your website I purchased roses from another nursery. Whilst they were very healthy looking, your roses were positively “jumping out of their skin” healthy. My first response on opening the box was ‘wow’. Also, the extra Cote d’Ázure was a lovely surprise and a beautiful rose, thank you.”
“My plan is to grow roses in Babinda, Far North Queensland. Everyone tells me I’m mad because it’s too wet and humid but I’m going to give it my best shot. Once your book is back in publication I’ll be purchasing a copy. I’ll need all the help I can get ☺  In the meantime I’m following your organic rose management instructions in the Australian Rosarian.  Once again, thank you.”  Regards  … Carrie
And more good stuff …
“Greetings Diana, Thank you so much – I am looking forward to getting them – I have had NAHEMA before but sadly after about 10 years it decided to curl its toes up and kark it so I cannot live without it. Have decided to replace it with my recent Birthday monies – thank you so much for stocking it. It is an amazing Rose” – Cheers Ingrid    Hello again Ingrid … how interesting to read this about NAHEMA … do you know why it ‘karked it’ ???  Was there an animal peeing in that location, was it particularly wet or dry???  Most unusual for a rose to just die after such an established time in a garden so if you can enlighten me as to what you think might have gone wrong, please let me know ???  Talk soon I hope …

 

“Hi again, Not really sure could have been my son’s Red Heeler but he usually relieves himself on my tyres first!!!!! We did have a terribly hot summer up here in SE Qld so that might have been the last straw for it…. I have been using a product called Black Marvel lately and all my roses are looking much healthier… So looking forward to having a new NAHEMA in my garden as it is definitely my favourite rose ever… Thanks again for your emails …” Cheers Ingrid    Oh, actually, I have received lots of information since our last visit to QLD … your roses don’t last anywhere near as long as ours down here … yours have such an incredibly LOOOOOONG flowering season and I think they wear out!  We have a good winter rest of at least three months in most cold zones and the roses enjoy that!  You know, when it boils down to it, you couldn’t have dinner and a nice wine for what this new rose has cost you … you’ll get another 10 years of glory whereas the dinner and wine are down the loo within 24 hours … gotta giggle!  Cheers .. Diana
Here’s a pic of our awesomely friendly guard dog who lets us know you’ve arrived at Silkies Rose Farm, CLONBINANE within 500 metres of the HUME FREEWAY at the CLONBINANE INTERCHANGE and open every FRI SAT SUN MON

 

Enjoy all the moments in your garden this week… cheers from us here at Silkies Rose Farm, Clonbinane
– Cheers, Diana, Graham & Mooi

Posted on

ROSE RAMBLER 3.8.2017

ROSE RAMBLER 04.08.2017 …

Hello dear rose friends on this Thursday in the first week of the last days of winter …
As I turned the calendar, this is what gloriousness presented itself –

I think the rose might be WEDDING DAY but it might be one of the other species roses which display a most spectacular single flowering just once every year … however, for something seriously beautiful which flowers continually through the whole season, one of our most favourite roses is SALLY HOLMES which has a breathtaking display of up to 50 blooms on a branch and makes a most wonderful display in large vases!  Happiness is having SALLY HOLMES flowering in your garden …

Time is going so fast and it’s very interesting to share some emails from customers who haven’t got a clue when to prune … neither do we …???

Hi! Diana & Graham, I usually carry out my annual winter prune on the last day of July. However I cannot remember when I still had roses and some buds still on some of my roses? Can I go ahead and prune as usual? Best regards Ron – Brisbane

Graham responded to Ron .. “Like I said in the Rose Rambler last week … the weather will keep us all talking and pondering and wondering when to do what … just do it when you can and when you feel like doing it and I’m sure it will all work out ok … cheers… Gra”

I had coffee with friends this morning at the Rose Café in Kilmore and Marilyn told me her roses are still flowering in Craigieburn so when should she prune???  I suggested we all take Graham’s advice and do it when time permits and you’re in the right mood for pruning!  Be sure and glove up because this is another email we received this past week …

Hi, Thank you, my roses they arrived this week.  I would like to warn fellow rose growers about the dangers of fungus infections from roses.  I always wear gloves however a thorn went through my glove into my index finger.  The thorn came straight out and I did not think of it anymore until the next morning, which was a Saturday, when I woke up and found my finger and thumb very swollen.

I went to the GP who put me on antibiotics and said to come back on Sunday so he could check my finger.  The swelling had not gone down so I was sent for a scan first thing on Monday morning.  I then went back to the GP who after seeing the scan sent me to emergency at the local hospital.  Within 3 hours or arriving at emergency I was in the operating theatre having my finger opened in three places and washed out.  I was in hospital for two days as the antibiotics had to be changed as there was no initial response to treatment for the fungus infection and the bacterial infection.  I responded to the new anti fungal medication.

After discharge from hospital I had to attend hand therapy for three months to get movement back into my index finger.  I now have movement in the my finger although I does not feel completely normal.  I have to continue with therapy at home.  One has to be very careful when handling roses.  I have been growing roses for 10 years and have 300 roses.  I have never had this problem before.  Apparently it is a fungus specific to roses.  Kind Regards ..Desley

Thank you Desley for sharing!  Fortunately, in more than 30 years of rose pruning, neither Graham nor I have had serious issues and we always stress the importance of protective clothing when working in your garden – we use and highly recommend the MADE IN GERMANY gloves which we have used for more than 25 years … they have greater protection over the knuckle zone and come in FOUR sizes which are suitable for MOST hands … these gloves are available online at www.rosesalesonline.com.au

 

GRA’S GARBLE …

Gardens need many different plant species to remain healthy – microbes in the vicinity of plant roots increase the availability of minerals and trace elements required to maintain healthy vitality of all plants!

All living things – above and below the ground benefit when the plant:microbe bridge is working effectively.

Q.  What has four wheels and flies?  A.  A garbage truck!

Feeding your soil with organic fertilizer and applying layers of mulch such as pea-straw and/ or lucerne increase microbial activity, stimulates worm cultivation and thus improves soil vitality which ensures all the plants in your garden thrive.  Any mulch is better than bare soil; no mulch … definitely not recommended!

Incorporating a diverse range of plant species to your garden assists with managing plant health – amongst your roses I encourage you to grow garlic, alyssum, calendula, lots of bulbs and perennials – vegetables like silver-beet and kale – soon, you can plant tomatoes and other summer veggies – be creative and adventurous!

Q.  What’s the worst vegetable to serve on a boat?  A.  Leeks

Get your kids involved in planting veggies which they will be inspired to harvest, cook and eat – great family time together and way better and more constructive than watching TV.

Research has shown that using chemicals in your garden will inhibit biological soil activity so I urge you to consider which products you purchase when next visiting your garden supplier – yes, there is ‘quick, easy fix’ for most issues which occur within our gardens at times during every season … please take a look at the Sustainable Gardening Australia website and be sure you make INFORMED DECISIONS when it comes to which products you use in managing your garden!

WEEPING ROSES ARE NOW AVAILABLE …
PICK UP ONLY …

We have a lovely selection of these magnificent roses – there is no more spectacular sight than a weeping rose which flowers prolifically from October through to May/June.

Provide a well-drained, open sunny location at least 2.5 x 2.5 metres around and you will enjoy years of glorious display – all these roses should be well supported with a very sturdy ring and pole kit available here at Silkies Rose Farm.

MY FAVOURITE WEEPING ROSES …

Crepuscule
Freely produces the most amazing flushes of clusters of apricot blooms which fade to cream and literally smother the bush with flowers throughout the season on relatively thornless canes.  This highly versatile rose can be used to cover arches, adorn fences of variable height and is so easy to maintain because of the beautiful flexible canes.Pinkie
Cluster of mid-pink flowers all season. Lush healthy foliage on thornless wood. Dense foliage cover.

Seafoam
It produces small pretty white flowers throughout a very long flowering season. It is thorny but don’t let this deter you. Highly recommended for a healthy, pretty feature weeping rose in your garden.

Summer’s evening

All our weeping rose varieties are my favourites because they’re all really spectacular – you MUST come to the Rose Farm to collect one and get the support kit too!

Remember to use seaweed solution, fish emulsion and other organic liquids like worm-wee, compost tea and other brews to increase ‘soil-life’ which is guaranteed to ensure you produce the most healthy roses, plants and veggies to guarantee YOUR HEALTH!

Enjoy all the moments in your garden this week…
cheers from us here at Silkies Rose Farm, Clonbinane
Posted on

ROSE RAMBLER 27.7.2017

ROSE RAMBLER 27.07.2017 …

Hello dear rose friends as the morning bird calls start to indicate a sign of spring in the air … definitely a bit early by comparison to previous years but all things considered, it’s been a rather extraordinary winter with us having recorded our coldest frost in 17 years here at Clonbinane – down to minus 8 a couple of weeks ago and an amazing number of freezing morning temperatures with gloriously sunny days and above-average daytime temperatures.  Aaaaah … the conspiracy of the weather will keep our conversations alive!

Yes, we are all ok and still here – yes, your computer email is functioning ok too – I didn’t produce a Rose Rambler last week simply because I felt it was way more important to put all my energy into packing parcels of roses!   Thank you to all of you who checked up on us!

After a consignment of roses this week, most rose orders will be completed – JOSEPH’S COAT was a real straggler and has held up a lot of orders … when it flowers in years to come, you’ll forget about how late your rose order was delivered when this magnificent rose flowers and flowers throughout each season … what a sight to behold it is and I’m so glad we offer it to you by having it budded each year …

GRA’S GARBLE …

STANDARD ROSES are most definitely a great way to grow roses as your body ages and it gets more difficult to get down on the ground to prune and manage bush rose plants!  One of the most important issues to consider when planting standard roses is permanent and durable STAKING A STANDARD ROSE …

We use and highly recommend 13mm RIO ROD which easily penetrates deep into soil and will not move, will never rot and actually looks great because it’s almost invisible as it rusts and sits very snugly right against the rose stem.

Be sure and allow around 20-30cms of rod ABOVE THE CROWN which acts as support or to lightly tie new water shoots to, in extremely high-wind areas.

 

To secure the standard rose understock to the rio rod, use 19mm VELCRO ONE-WRAP because it doesn’t come unstuck if correctly applied!

Q. Why aren’t elephants allowed on the beach?  A. Because they can’t keep their trunks up! 
(for the kids reading this, old guys ‘trunks’ are kind of like your ‘jocks’ …)

TAKE CARE WHEN ELECTING TO USE CHEMICALS IN YOUR ROSE GARDEN …

We can all learn from this email exchange during past weeks:

“My names Amber and recently my rose garden has been devastated by Rose Rosette Disease! About 16 of our roses have contracted it. I was wondering if you had advice on how long we should wait to re-plant new roses after digging these ones out as we would like to order between 10-20 bare root roses from you guys.  Also if you could recommend something to prevent mites and other pests that would be great. We had been using eco oil and a yates spray previously, but it didn’t seem to prevent aphids and what I suspect were mites destroying our roses. Perhaps we weren’t diligent enough with spraying.  If you could get back to me at your earliest convenience that would be great! Thanks”

My initial response to Amber … I would be most interested to know who diagnosed your DISEASE?  This all sounds very dramatic and totally over and above ANYTHING that I have experienced in more than 30 years of rose growing!  Seems you’ll swing from chemical maintenance to organic with no success using either regime.

Let me help you grow beautiful roses ORGANICALLY, NATURALLY!!!  Get rid of all the chemicals as the first move.  Take a big, deep breath and relax whenever you go into the rose garden – actually, BEFORE YOU ENTER the rose garden so you go there with a quiet mind ready to experience all the pleasure rather than perhaps focus on some of the negatives which can occur from time to time in ANY GARDEN and on potentially, ANY PLANT!

I am almost 100% sure that your ROSE ROSETTE DISEASE is in fact growth appearing AFTER you’ve been spraying around the roses with one of the GLYPHOSATE PRODUCTS … perhaps RoundUp or Zero???  Had you used a weedicide product prior to noticing the weird foliage which has been diagnosed as RRD?

If you give me more information and perhaps a few pics I’ll take this further … talk soon – Diana

 

One pic of Amber’s affected foliage …

Amber admitted to ‘self-diagnosis’ after trawling through the Internet … I suspected this and although I know there is NO rose rosette disease in Australia, I wanted to be careful with how I responded – not wanting to offend any Rosarian who might be consulting with Amber and trying to sort her problems!

Since much email exchange, I realised Amber ordered roses from us this week …

Hello Amber … whilst I was busy packing roses today I noted that there was a parcel of roses for YOU … the roses are now in the post but I’m concerned about whether you should be planting while you seem to have so many issues with the existing roses???

My colleagues have all agreed that there is an OVERDOSE OF SPRAY on your roses … which product exactly, we’re not sure … highly likely a pre-emergent weedicide of some kind.

PLEASE STOP USING ANY SPRAYS OR FERTILIZER ON YOUR ROSES!

Thankfully, Amber has responded very positively …

“I have stopped using any chemical sprays at all & my husband knows not to use any weed killer as well now. I have purchased eco rose, eco seaweed and already have eco oil on hand so I’m going to be using the organic spray recipe on your website from now on.”

Please take extreme care when using weedicides – in fact, ANY CHEMICALS around your garden!  There are so many alternatives available – for more information please retain these two addresses:  www.ecoorganicgarden.com.au and www.sgaonline.aug.au so you have access to the most updated information about sustainable gardening and which products you can safely use in your home garden.

Q. What happens when a frog parks in a no-parking space?  A. It gets toad away.

When the winter blues happen for you, either give us a call (our phones were seriously challenged this past week when all calls went direct to ‘message bank’ … sorry!) or log into www.rosesalesonline.com.au and purchase some roses just like Holly did a couple of times in these past weeks …

“Feeling a bit low just now because after the worst winter day this year (no gardening) I baked two cakes with duck eggs (famously wonderful) which came out like moon craters.  Ho hum.  See- my mind is only on gardening, not baking, and my brain thinks digging holes is the only thing worth thinking about.  I even dreamed of rose planting last night!  So it serves me right trying to bake when the heart is elsewhere, eh?  Mary Berry is safe in her day job. Looking forward to receiving my roses … thanks, Holly”


Enjoy time spent in your winter garden …
cheers from all of us at Silkies Rose Farm, Clonbinane …
Posted on

ROSE RAMBLER 13.7.2017

ROSE RAMBLER 13.07.2017 …

Hello dear rose friends after another series of freezing nights and gloriously sunny days with birds noisily indicating they’re mating and preparing nests for spring reproduction.  There’s a continual shrilling sound which we think is a tree frog but we’re not quite sure … if you’re in the nursery in coming weeks, please ask about the critter which has us perplexed and sure to be heard during your visit.

I’ve soooo enjoyed reading your stories following on from last week’s Rose Rambler article about ICEBERG!  Thank you all for sharing … yes, unfortunately, ICEBERG has the status of COMMON yet it is without doubt, THE ROSE OF THE CENTURY; it is proudly listed in the WORLD ROSE HALL OF FAME and continues to be the most popular standard rose in our industry year after year!

I guess in the olden days when people were classed according to their status, I might have been classed as a COMMONER.  However, if I had half the beauty and afforded my subjects as much incredible joy as what COMMON old ICEBERG has done, let me gladly be classed as COMMON!  A bit of fun with words I guess …?

GRA’S GARBLE …

I so miss the fragrance of roses since the FRAGRANCE OF A ROSE IS IN ITS SOUL … being deep in the winter here, there’s not a fragrant rose to behold – instead I’m busy pruning so get out and you do just the same – remember that you cannot kill a rose by pruning it … come along to a pruning demo this weekend at WHITTLESEA COURTHOUSE on SATURDAY at 10.00 am and help me and an enthusiastic group of gardeners prune the roses there.

This SUNDAY at 1.30PM be sure to come along to Silkies Rose Farm at Clonbinane where we’ll walk and talk and prune our way through the gardens here … bring the family and pets; don’t forget to bring your secateurs/loppers for a lesson on cleaning and sharpening.

My joke for this week:

Children were asked to write about the ocean and here are a few of their comments to give you a giggle …

Mike, aged 7:  If you are surrounded by ocean, you are an island.  If you don’t have ocean around you, you are incontinent.

James, aged 7:  My dad was a sailor and knows everything about the ocean.  What he doesn’t know is why he quit being a sailor and married my Mother.

I hope you haven’t overlooked ordering these most beautifully fragrant and robustly healthy roses to add to your rose garden collection this winter …

TROPICAL SUNSET
This is a very striking rose – one that stands out when in bloom.  The flowers are beautiful in form and the colour is amazing, yellow with orange stripes fading to a soft pink.  Tropical sunset is a great performing rose with numerous blooms throughout the season and healthy semi-glossy foliage to compliment. Grows to 1.5mts
BLUE MOON
Hybrid Tea rose which has stood the test of time. Tall, upright almost thornless stems produce clusters or single stems of highly fragrant perfectly formed blooms.
FIREFIGHTER
This glorious specimen with tall single stems of the most highly fragrant dark red rose will be a joy to all rose gardeners. The men will rush out to buy it because it has so very few thorns and tell us in the nursery that they just love the red roses … we know it’s all about the lack of thorns even though we also know that men prefer their garden roses to be red!

LOOK AFTER YOURSELF WHILST PRUNING THIS SEASON …

Here are my suggestions for comfortable, safe and enjoyable pruning:

  1. Clean and sharp secateurs – we use and recommend Lowe 4 which are available in our online store – www.rosesalesonline.com.au
  2. Look after your back – sit on a chair if you need to – one rose at a time!
  3. Do light exercise before you start to get your muscles ready for a work-out!
  4. Wear protective clothing – most definitely a comfortable pair of gloves.
  5. Be the boss and prune each rose according to how it suits your garden!
  6. Enjoy being out in the garden knowing that every 25 minutes you spend in your garden is equivalent to a 4km walk – Yep, backed up by University research!

Enjoy all the moments of this fabulous winter weather in your garden – turn over a patch which will be ready for planting spring seedlings to feed your family the most nutrient-rich salad-greens and veggies throughout spring/summer.

See you soon at Clonbinane to collect roses or attend a pruning demo – happy gardening from the team at rosesalesonline.com.au – Diana & Graham Sargeant
Posted on

ROSE RAMBLER 6.7.2017

ROSE RAMBLER 06.07.2017 …

Now Hello dear rose friends as we enter the middle of winter with very cold nights – down to minus 8 here on Sunday morning and miserably small amounts of rain – just  13mm in the past few days!

I haven’t had a great deal of time to prepare this Rose Rambler so let me just take some emails with very interesting information for sharing … even Gra has been head down, bum up and hasn’t got a joke this week … you actually need to send him a couple if your kids/grandchildren are into jokes – he did have this little ditty to share …

A REASSURING HUG THAT’S BETTER THAN ALL OTHERS;
THEY’RE THE BEST, MIRACULOUS MOTHERS!

POSTING PARCELS OF ROSES …

 

Dear Diana.  I have received the rose today and planted in the garden. Thank you very much, it was a surprise to receive so much information concerning roses and the sea weed sachet was a pleasant surprise.  I will look forward to the rose in bloom thanks so much – Christine


ROSE OF THE CENTURY … YES, IT IS …

 

Hi Diana,  I posted a message comment on your website a month or so ago, and have only just realised that you had emailed me a response. It went to my junk mail and I accidentally deleted it before I read it and now cannot retrieve it!  So my apologies for the poor communication; I will start again!

I am planning my wedding for Australia Day next year and would love potted white roses leading down the aisle. I have been given all sorts of advice on how to time their flowering, including that floribunda types would be the easiest to time the flowering.  After the wedding I plan to give some away, and keep some for myself which I intend to plant out within a few years.

Although I am an agronomist by day, I have not had much to do with roses at all! I’d would be very grateful for any advice you may be able to offer me. Are there any varieties that you would suggest? I am mainly aiming for ease of management, ability to time the flowering, and abundance and fragrance of flowers. Of course things like disease resistance and hardiness would be useful going forward, but I imagine you can’t have everything!  Also if there is a resource that answers my questions please feel free to send me in that direction instead. Thanks very much, Pamela

Hi Pamela … thank you for contacting me again… I think that to save a whole lot of bother / money / time and be guaranteed of success with this project, you need to source 30 or more ICEBERG bush roses – I can supply same for $16.50 each if you order over the phone very soon … roses are now being potted and have been increased to $19.50 online …

Why ICEBERG and not some other very fancy, highly fragrant hybrid-tea rose like say, POPE JOHN PAUL II … simply because ICEBERG is the variety which will most definitely be flowering at the time of your wedding with the least amount of stress – after the wedding, as gifts, the roses will offer immense joy in the home garden of your guests.

Yes, ICEBERG is common (Pamela actually stated that in one of her emails!!!) but so what?  It’s beautiful and will definitely give you an avenue of potted white colour down the aisle at your wedding – do what works for YOU not what others might say about this glorious rose!  Please let me know if I can assist to make this work for you … no, I cannot offer cheaper price than $16.50 per plant plus pack post … oh, $45.00 high out!  Talk soon perhaps … best wishes DIANA

Hi Diana,  Thank you so much for your detailed response. That is very helpful for me and I will certainly go with the Icebergs. Like most women planning a wedding I do however have a fairly tight budget, and even these roses are quite the extravagance. I’m not sure of the most diplomatic way to say this, but I was hoping you’d be able to offer lower costs for bulk and to be truthful they are down to around $10 with some of your competitors, which represents quite a difference in the total I’ll end up paying. I’m very sorry as I would love to purchase from you. Next time when I’m purchasing roses in smaller lots I will definitely order from you, and I hope that this is sooner rather than later. Thanks again for your help, sorry we can’t work something out this time. I’m looking forward to buying roses from you in the future.  No need to reply. Thanks, Pamela

In my usual form, I did respond to Pamela and wished her well with her wedding – you, know, it’s not always about the cost of something and no, roses purchased from Silkies Rose Farm / www.rosesalesonline.com.au aren’t the CHEAPEST but by golly, they come wrapped or potted with love and they’re 100% guaranteed to grow in your garden and give years and years of pleasure – something that good NEVER COMES CHEAP!

FAVOURITE OTHER WHITE/CREAM ROSES FOR MASSIVE DISPLAY …

MAGGIE
Maggie is delightfully feminine – the superb flowers are softly ruffled with masses of petals in rich, creamy white. During the cooler months, there is a distinct border of blush pink at the edge of the petals and there is a distinct soft, fruity fragrance which adds a romantic charm to this most beautiful rose.
LIONS ROSE
Modern Shrub/Floribunda rose of immense beauty, resistance to disease and ability to grow and flower in any sunny location. With flowers creamy-white, tinged apricot-pink deep in the swirled central petals, the blooms open to 15cms wide and reveal their dark stamens when opened.

POPE JOHN PAUL II
A magnificent pure white rose with the most amazing fragrance!  The healthy bush produces masses of long stemmed, large blooms continually throughout the season – a very highly recommended rose!

PRUNING ROSES

Graham will conduct regular pruning demonstrations here at the Rose Farm throughout July – here are the dates:

  • SATURDAY, 8TH JULY – 1.30PM – BRING THE KIDS AND SECATEURS
  • SUNDAY 16TH JULY – WHITTLESEA COURTHOUSE DEMO SAT, 15TH 10.00AM
  • SATURDAY 22ND JULY – 1.30PM – BRING THE FAMILY FOR A LOVELY WINTER OUTING

We promise to get it together and video Gra doing one of his garden WALK ‘N’ TALK demos so that all you lovely interstate followers can be part of what goes on down south!!!

Meantime, best wishes to all from the team here at Silkies Rose Farm, Clonbinane
Posted on

ROSE RAMBLER 29.6.2017

ROSE RAMBLER 29.06.2017 …

Now on the ‘upside’ of longer days already – it seems unbelievable that we have passed the winter solstice and our days from here onwards will lengthen and hasten the herald of spring flowering for our roses.  Phew, have we been busy while all this celestial ‘stuff’ has been happening …

PLEASE DO NOT CALL ME AT THE NURSERY ABOUT YOUR ROSE ORDER … we now have almost every rose available for posting – the last consignment only came into the nursery yesterday and now needs to be graded (obviously the BEST for pre-orders!) then sorted, tagged and pitted into heel-in beds then packed and posted.

We can only post around 50 cartons each day because we have a small Country Post Office managing our parcels so you can expect your roses to be delivered very soon – if you have a mobile phone contact on your order, we will send you AustPost tracking number so you know when to expect your roses.

If you are going away and wish to delay posting, please contact us IMMEDIATELY to ensure your roses are not wandering around the postal system waiting for you to come home!

GRA’S GARBLE …

Come on up to Silkies Rose Farm at Clonbinane if you’re unsure of how to prune your roses this winter – there will be formal pruning demonstrations on:

SATURDAY 1ST and SUNDAY 2ND JULY
– both days commencing at 1.30pm

When we’re out in the garden together, I don’t just talk and demonstrate rose pruning, we’ll check out the compost heaps, prune some fruit trees and discuss all manner of gardening issues including how to avoid and correct this …

Soil compaction: the silent and sinister destroyer of healthy soil and plants

Imagine wearing tight clothing and not being able to breathe properly to perform regular tasks in your life.  Imagine if you were drawing breath with no one taking notice that you were slowly suffocating.  This is the condition of many agricultural and anthropogenic soils in which plants try to grow.  The lack of air space and waterholding capacity is the primary reason for substandard plant performance and eventual crop failure.

If you have time, we can chat over a cuppa before/after the demonstration … see you this weekend!

Q. What trees like a warm beverage?  A. Tea-trees

FEATURE ROSE …

In the rose fields at Coldstream, Victoria, along a row of THE CHILDREN’S ROSE, there appeared a stem of creamy white flowers with all the characteristics and traits of the pale pink roses in the row … Mother Nature doing ‘her thing’ had produced a ‘sport’.

This ‘freak of Nature’ is a glorious rose which now bears the name:  THE WEDDING ROSE and is now available for rose lovers to enjoy.  So appropriately named because of the bridal-cream colour and magnificent fragrance, this robust beauty will be a treasure in every bride’s garden!

Here’s a little ‘twist’ of romance which now makes this beautiful rose extra special … I received a phone call enquiry about THE WEDDING ROSE … in my usual form, I postulated about how lovely the rose is, how appropriate it would be for a wedding gift and Vicki then placed an online order for the rose to be sent as a GIFT ROSE with this message:

“Life is ironic when it takes a spiky thorn to produce a beautiful rose.  Best wishes for your future together.  Vicki and Anne-Maree”

I responded to Vicki that I would post the rose according to her instructions but was curious about the message and I’m not afraid to ask a question when something sparks my curiosity so Vicki responded …

Many thanks Diana. I did ring and inquire. You’re probably too busy to read this but the story behind the message is: a friend has been looking for a wife for a long time, he got a badly infected finger from a rose thorn and his discharge nurse from hospital is the one he is going to marry. Roses work in mysterious ways.  Looking forward to receiving and giving the rose, Vicki

Here is a follow-up email…

Hi Diana .. The wedding was beautiful.  Thanks for getting The Wedding Rose to me on time. It’s now planted at Pepperina Gallery, Nobby which is a small town on the Darling Downs. Regards – Vicki

Now we have to wait until they have their first child and they order THE CHILDREN’S ROSE!

Our GIFT ROSE is an ideal way of commemorating special events in your life and I make EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM extra special so that YOUR GIFT is eternally memorable!

Q. Why do birds fly south for the winter?  A. ‘Cause it’s too far to walk …

A HEDGEROW OF ROSES …

Here’s a tip for those of you who dream of having a magnificent hedge of roses … Neil ordered 11 x MRS. B.R. CANT (tea rose ideal for mass planting) and when I acknowledged his order, I mentioned how glorious it would be.  He responded:

“ … you have already envisaged the mass planting of the rose garden bed as have I, and you will always be able to remember your contribution. I am thinking about a 2 metre by 2 metre spacing, what would your thoughts be?  Kind regards Neil”

Hi Neil … yes, the plants will eventually meet at this spacing – have you got lots of time on your side???  Giggling and trying to be delicate and not ask your age!!!I would prefer to recommend that you do 1.2-1.5 metre spacing.  However, if you do 2 mt spacing, as the plants flower, take cuttings from stems where flowers have been and poke them into the soil to create new plants to thicken the border.  Another way is to take a flexible cane and layer it – literally bend it over, secure with an old horse-shoe or piece of wire and cover with soil to create a new plant.

I have two magnificent plants which are the first roses I planted here in 2000 and are the only two old-fashioned roses which survived Black Saturday, 2009 just because they were tucked in on the house side of a magnificent spruce which my lads watered and saved!  Each plant is easily 3.5 x 3.5 after 17 years of trimming, never, ever pruning!!!  Diana

Hope to see you here at the Rose Farm soon … whether it’s for a demo or to collect your roses this winter … do come along and meet with us here during our open hours:

FRIDAY – SATURDAY – SUNDAY – MONDAY – 9am till 4pm
ANY OTHER DAY BY APPOINTMENT ONLY

Stay warm and comfortable when indoors but do get out into the fresh, cool winter weather to prune your roses – the winter garden has its own special beauty for you to enjoy …

Cheers from us here at Clonbinane
Posted on

ROSE RAMBLER 22.6.2017

ROSE RAMBLER 22.06.2017 …

Hello dear rose friends with a very warm welcome to recent subscribers who have ordered online, attended a presentation or visited the Rose Farm recently.  We hope you gain valuable information from our weekly email and we invite you to contribute and use this document as an opportunity to share information and enrich the lives of your fellow gardeners.

If you wish to view previous ROSE RAMBLER newsletters, they’re all available at www.allaboutroses.com.au where you will find very historical information about our rose growing ventures.

We are always happy to pass on information from SUSTAINABLE GARDENING AUSTRALIA and this is a very important announcement, worthy of YOUR contribution – PLEASE, PLEASE do YOUR bit, have YOUR say and pass this very valuable information on to the generation whom, despite their busyness, NEED to KNOW about this because it will be them and their children whose lives will be seriously impacted if we ignore this …

SGA App Newsletter

SGA is excited to have just launched a crowd funding campaign on Chuffed.org (campaign ends on 24th July 2017) to help fund the development and maintenance of a research-based web-app that indicates the safety for people and their environment of 1000+ garden products for pest, weed & disease control or to improve soil fertility.

This App will help home and professional gardeners make informed choices on how to reduce the use of chemicals that may have negative effects on human health and environmental impacts.

As a not-for-profit organisation, relying mainly on volunteers and donations, and with the assistance of Burnley College, University of Melbourne, SGA has developed a unique database which scores chemicals against 11 criteria indicating human and environmental impacts of each product.

For ease of use and to assist people make informed decisions, each product will be rated from 1 to 6 stars and show levels of safety for humans, bees and other insects, fish and birds, persistence in soils and likelihood of polluting waterways. In addition, it will suggest chemical-free alternatives to gardening problems.

SGA would appreciate your assistance in this campaign by sharing this initiative with your professional and personal networks and passing on to environmental and gardening groups within your community. Links to various communication channels are provided below to assist you in spreading the word.

GRA’S GARBLE …

This organisation doesn’t postulate about environmental issues; SGA is a very committed and dedicated group of people who offer us ALL an opportunity to be connected with OUR environment so, in order to show our support for SGA, we invite our enthusiastic Rose Rambler subscribers to donate at least $10.00 to the ‘crowdfunding campaign’.

We will commit 10% of ALL SALES IN THIS COMING WEEK to this immensely worthwhile campaign and know that our $’s will go 100% to where we donated them!

Q.  What do you call a cold dog sitting on a bunny?  A. A chilli dog on a bun!

FEATURE ROSE …

In 1972 at Cants of Colchester Rose Nursery in the United Kingdom, (est. 1765 – no, not a misprint!) the magnificent JUST JOEY rose was released having been named for the wife of the Managing Director of the Company, Joey Pawsey.

JUST JOEY’s parents are FRAGRANT CLOUD (highly fragrant hybrid tea of deep orange/dark pink blend and DR. A.J. VERHAGE (buttery gold, highly fragrant with swirling petals).  JUST JOEY bears beautiful traits from both parents – most especially, high fragrance!

JUST JOEY has been awarded the Royal Horticultural Society Award of Merit 1993 and in 1994 was introduced to the World Rose Hall of Fame.  When introduced to Australian rose lovers in the late 1970’s JUST JOEY was considered a breakthrough with its size of flower and distinctly unique colour!

This lovely rose is one of the first Hybrid Tea roses we planted in our gardens at Kilmore where our nursery was first registered in 1986 and we have seen plants of this magnificent rose in gardens wherever we have travelled around the world – it will continue to reward and delight any rose lover for years to come!

It’s such a delight to both of us when we receive an order for this season’s roses with a footnote like this one …

NB : Do you know that the roses I got from you last year , plus the tips I receive in the “Rose Rambler” Email, had all my roses old & new blooming like never before this year. I was able to give my neighbour Roses for her husbands grave, also my step son for his mums , as well as my friend & also myself for my wife’s grave. The bunches were all healthy & that large they would have cost a fortune at a florist. People who walk by ask how I get them to grow like they do, & I just pass on your firms name & a recommendation.  Thanks again  Mervyn

There is still a bit of a delay with some of the new-release roses … a few varieties are caught in the later digging cycle, along with standards and weeping roses which are usually only available during July … we are posting and processing orders as soon as the roses are ready – please be patient as there is plenty of time to plant bare-rooted roses well into July and August or beyond!

Another joke for this week:  Q: There were three men in a boat – it capsized but only two fellows got their hair wet!  Why?  A.  The third man was bald … like me!

Today is the first day after the shortest day – there is a weeding cycle until tomorrow and a new Moon on Saturday … it’s ALL HAPPENING … !!!

Enjoy pruning your roses if you are inclined to prune early and make planting your new roses a truly joyous occasion with your hands deep in the soil!  Cheers from the team here at Clonbinane where we are busy doing lots of packing/potting/trimming …

Diana, Graham and Mooi rugged up!
Posted on

ROSE RAMBLER 15.6.17

ROSE RAMBLER 15.06.2017 …

Hello dear rose friends from a very chilly Clonbinane where we’ve had frequent frosts with overnight temperatures registering minus … yes, up to minus 5 degrees followed by gloriously sunny days!

A few weeks ago I posted rose cuttings to a young lad, Andy, in Singapore – he desperately wants to grow MUNSTEAD WOOD but due to climatic conditions, thought roses grown on their own roots would be healthier and easier to grow … here is a series of emails and pics about the experience … the rose cuttings were wrapped in damp newspaper, sealed in plastic and took around 10 days to arrive in Singapore – I was delighted to see the photos Andy sent:

 

Andy:  Okay. Yes, all of them grew callus, hopefully they will be alright. When they first arrived, I quickly place them into a bucket of water to re-hydrate them, hope this is okay. Also, I have never seen such thorny or rather ‘hairy’ kind of rose. This is way too much thorns than I expected, hahaha.

Diana:  I did see the callous in the last pic where you asked if this was the start of the roots forming … YES DEFINITELY IT IS and I seriously hope you didn’t let these dry out in any way!  They did in transit exactly what I expected … formed callous so they will set root very quickly if you have treated them right – put them straight into the media, watered in with seaweed solution and left them in a sunny but protected location – they will require very light watering so keep the media slightly damp but not sopping wet.

I hope this is a success for you … please keep me posted on your cuttings as they grow.  Best wishes …

It would be a real thrill to see pictures of Andy’s roses as struck cuttings and then hopefully, as flowering plants in his Singapore garden.  I will keep you posted as this develops.

GRA’S GARBLE …

I know I harp on and on about the ‘magic’ of seaweed solution and here is exact testament to why …

Dear Graham, I had to let you know how wonderful my two roses are now that I have taken your advice.  At the Sunbury Garden Club I mentioned my despair with my two favourite roses looking very unhealthy and our local nursery had recommended pulling them out.  I drenched them twice a week for 6 weeks, as recommended by you and I now have so many beautiful yellow roses coming out!!!  The roses look so healthy and happy.  Thank you so much.   Warmest regards,   Lorna

The thing is, with lots of products which I use and recommend, you cannot see INSTANT RESULTS but if you persist, just as I have with spraying biodynamic preparations around our property here at Clonbinane over the last 17 years, the proof is in the soil … I can dig a hole anywhere within this boundary and successfully grow any plant I want to grow that suits our climatic conditions.  I use seaweed solution liberally!

There are worms breeding prolifically because wherever I dig with a fork, I raise soil filled with worms.  Note:  use a fork when turning the soil so you don’t cut the worms as severely as when you use a shovel!!!

Q.  What is the best thing to put into your pizza?  A.   Your teeth … ha, ha, got ya!

It’s such a pleasure to see our heel-in beds filled with such magnificent quality bare-rooted roses.

  
Soon enough, those beautiful 40cm canes and thick mass of roots will be cut so the plants will fit into their 20cm pots along with our yummy coir fibre potting mix ready to establish roots which in turn produce masses of new canes for flowering in October.

PRUNE YOUR NEWLY PLANTED BARE-ROOTED ROSES BY AT LEAST ONE THIRD – yes, go on, be brave and do it – leave just one with long canes exactly as it was when you received it and you will see that the bushes you trimmed are more robust, healthy-looking and nicely rounded shrubs compared to the leggy rose which you didn’t prune!

In the nursery, we wait until customers have paid for their roses then ask if they would like them pruned ready for planting … most customers jump at the opportunity to have a professional prune for their new roses.

It’s hilarious to see our customers gasp as we cut at least 1/3 of the branches!  No, there’s not a 1/3 discount on those pruned roses – if anything, we should add a 1/3 ‘pruning surcharge’ …!

Q.  Why did the hen go halfway across the road?  A.  She wanted to lay it on the line!

LAST FLOWERS …

EVEN AFTER EXTREME COLD AND FROST this past weekend, I delighted my colleagues at Radio 3CR Melbourne Radio Talk-back Garden Show with a vase of NAHEMA and KNOCKOUT … two sensational roses worthy of planting in your garden!

Do treat yourself to THE BEST garden talk-back radio by tuning into 3CR Melbourne at 855 on the AM Band every Sunday morning from 7.30 – 9.15 am.

Diana will be on air 25th June for the 3CR Community Radiothon – the courtyard in Collingwood is stacked to the cudgels with horticultural products – every penny you donate converts to product or books, magazine subscriptions and a whole lot more!

Become part of the 3CR COMMUNITY GARDEN SHOW audience and know that whatever your gardening issue, it will be resolved by an expert panel of dedicated horticulturalists.

In closing, this message means so much …

Dear Diana and Graham … Well done for winning the 2017 Word of Mouth Award, well deserved.  Cheryl Schembri and Sunbury Garden Club

From a Garden Club who’s members remember when Graham would visit with our sons, Eric and Ben to help him – the boys remember too and they’re 37 and 34 now!  Thanks Sunbury Garden Club!

Enjoy planting and pruning in your winter garden…
Graham, Diana, Mooi and the team!

Posted on

ROSE RAMBLER 9.6.2017

ROSE RAMBLER 09.06.2017 …  A day later than normal … sorry!  Enjoy this and also this Queen’s Birthday Long Weekend …

Hello dear rose friends … thank you to all of you who have taken YOUR precious time to give our business a review in WOMO … Word Of Mouth Online – we pay for this service because we believe it’s worth advertising YOUR opinion of the experience you have with us!

We have always asked for positive and negative experience feedback and there is no doubt there have been a couple of truly ordinary (mostly) delivery experiences which are listed in the reviews.
We’re pleased with this achievement and it’s particularly pleasing when new customers call to say they’ve read the reviews and are contacting us because YOU recommended us!

SINCERE THANKS!

Over the past year, more than 90% of reviews for Silkies Rose Farm
have had a 4-5 star rating. Less than 5% of businesses qualify for the Service Award,
so our achievement is worth celebrating!

POSTING ROSES …

Please know that when I post roses to you, every parcel is special and I remember most of what is posted because I am ‘chief rose wrapper’ while Tova is ‘chief parcel packer’ on the days when she assists me.

It’s an incredibly lovely experience to receive an email like this one …

“Morning Diana.  I just wanted to send you a quick update… Aunty Val bought a special pot to plant her very special SHIRLEY’S ROSE.

It sits proudly on her front veranda where she can easily get to it (and see it from her comfy lounge chair)…It is very happy and healthy (and thankfully, so is Aunty Val).

I hope business is booming – you do such a wonderful job!  Take good care.  Martine”

Martine purchased SHIRLEY’S ROSE as a GIFT ROSE for her 86 year old Aunty Val to remember her sister, Martine’s Mother, Shirley who had died some years back and sent it with this message on a card:

A rose is a rose is a rose … Except for this one – Shirley’s Rose.
Always in our thoughts … Forever in our hearts.
For you Aunty Val, with much love … Tracey, Jonaelle and Martine

Any wonder that this gorgeous rose is so appreciated!

What a special opportunity our business has by offering such loving GIFT ROSES to be posted around Australia in celebration of all types of events which naturally occur in families … we post to all states except WA and TAS because we refuse to apply the chemicals required to pass quarantine in those States.

EVERY ROSE can be purchased as a GIFT ROSE … it’s a bit like, if the name suits the occasion, there’s a rose suitably named for that occasion so don’t be limited by your imagination when selecting your next GIFT ROSE!

GRA’S GARBLE …

TAKING CUTTINGS FROM YOUR ROSES WHEN PRUNING THIS WINTER

This is my own experience with growing roses from cuttings up on the Great Divide here in Victoria –

  • Use coir fibre medium because it retains moisture
  • The seed-raising mix coir block must be soaked using clean water – the coir is manufactured from coconut fibre and is sterile to reduce issues with fungus which might cause cuttings to rot
  • Take cutting stems from rose branches where flowers have finished as this wood is hard/semi-hard
  • Use sharp / clean secateurs to cut stems around 100mm long and no less than pencil thick of clean stems with plump growth eyes
  • Use a stick to make holes in the coir which has been damped-down into seedling trays or perhaps polystyrene boxes with drain holes – whatever works for you!
  • Water over the cuttings with seaweed solution – soak them to remove all air pockets and then …
  • DON’T WATER AGAIN UNTIL YOU SEE GREEN SHOOTS APPEARING!  (There would have to be winter/early spring heat wave to need watering – it is most important to note that most cuttings fail due to OVER-WATERING !!!
  • Lightly sprinkle the cuttings which are now shooting ONCE A WEEK with seaweed solution and start to apply liquid fertilizer with seaweed from around September onwards.
  • Repot the rooted cuttings in October and watch them grow!

Growing roses from cuttings is a real pleasure and you must follow your ‘gardener’s intuition’ during the growing process – every season has different climatic conditions and every State has huge variables in when rose cuttings should be started and how they’re cultivated – if at first you don’t succeed, try and try again!

PUT YOUR HEART, MIND AND SOUL INTO EVEN YOUR SMALLEST ACTS.
THIS IS THE SECRET OF SUCCESS … Swami Swananda

Q.  Why wasn’t the teddy bear hungry?  A. Because he was stuffed!  

Please read this article for a greater understanding of how and why it is imperative for you to care for the soil in your garden … http://theconversation.com/how-healthy-soils-make-for-a-healthy-life-71790 which I received from Sustainable Gardening Australia – a valuable resource for gardeners who want great information!

How’s this bit of information?  Leaving mushrooms out in the sunshine for an hour during winter will boost their Vitamin D content FOUR-FOLD.  This means that 100g of sundrenched mushrooms will provide an adults daily requirement of Vitamin D!

Q. What do you call a sheep with no legs?  A. A cloud.

BARE-ROOTED ROSES EXPECTATIONS …

Keeping you all informed about how things are going in the nursery – yes, some orders are being posted – others are still waiting for varieties to be dug and especially orders which include standards and weeping roses, these will be delayed until very late June/early July.

We don’t recommend you substitute your selected variety unless that particular variety is a ‘struggler’ – you know, one of those roses which is ok in premium conditions but otherwise, a rather ordinary performer.

Please take our recommendation for example … you want JULIA’S ROSE … we’ve delisted it in favour of SOUL SISTER which is awesomely healthy and very free flowering but almost identical in colour and bloom shape …

 
Julia’s Rose
Soul Sister

LADY OF SHALLOT
We’ve delisted PAT AUSTIN in favour of this delightfully pretty
David Austin Rose which is so healthy and very, very free-flowering …

THANK YOU ROSE
Is way, way superior to ANGEL FACE –
we stock both but would way prefer to sell THANK YOU …

Here at the Rose Farm it’s head-down-bum-up while we get all this new seasons roses labelled, sorted and ready to post or pack and load into your vehicle.

Remember, I’ll be at Castlemaine next week for an exciting seminar at Buda and there will be another rose pruning demo here at Clonbinane on Sunday, 18th June …

Cheers from us all warmly dressed for winter … Diana, Graham, Tova, Ben and Mooi